Electrical monitoring and network enabled electrical faceplate

• US 10,072,942 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2017
• Issued: 09/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ivani, LLC
• Original Assignee: Ivani, LLC
• Inventors: Wootton, Matthew, McKinney, Justin, Crowell-Ingram, Michael, Dorsky, Evan, Mehrotra, Saarth, Pierce, Erin, Preston, Victoria, Clark, Jonathan, Wei, Zhen
• Primary Examiner(s): Assouad, Patrick
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pretlow, Demetrius
• Application Number:
  US15/449,172
• Publication Number:
  US 20170322049A1
• Time in Patent Office: 557 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/006 Remote reading of utility meters to a non-fixed location, i.e. mobile location
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/4204 with determination of ambient light solar light G01J2001/4266
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 13/00 Thermometers specially adapted for specific purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 11/04 Housings; Supporting racks; Arrangements of terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 15/202 using Hall-effect devices Hall elements in arrangements for measuring electrical power G01R21/08
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/15 Indicating the presence of current
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

Systems and methods for environmental monitoring of high activity facilities, generally comprising low profile devices having sensing elements for various environmental uses, designed to provide the wireless communications network as a basis for performing a wide variety of tasks. The devices may be installed on an existing electrical system and may measure, among other things, electrical current on various circuits.

Claims

1. A monitor device of a wireless networking monitoring system comprising:

a faceplate having an outside surface and an opposing inside surface, and configured to install on an electrical outlet to replace a standard faceplate used to hide a hole that said electrical outlet makes in a wall, said electrical outlet having a plurality of terminal posts interconnecting a socket in said outlet to an energized electrical circuit, said socket configured to interconnect with a plug of a device to be powered from said energized electrical circuit;

a computer attached to said inside surface;

an antenna attached to said inside surface;

a transceiver coupled to said antenna and operatively coupled to said computer and configured to transmit and receive via said antenna; and

a plurality of electrically conductive protrusions attached to said inside surface, said plurality of electrically conductive protrusions sized and shaped, and positioned on said surface, to contact and draw power from contacting said plurality of terminal posts when said faceplate is installed thereon, said electrically conductive protrusions providing said drawn power to said computer and to said transceiver.

2. The monitor device of claim 1, further comprising:

a magnetic field sensor attached to said inside surface, said magnetic field sensor disposed on said inside surface at a location configured to detect and measure magnetic fields.

3. The monitor device of claim 2, wherein said magnetic field sensor is configured to measure current passing through said outlet to said device.

4. The monitor device of claim 3, wherein said magnetic field sensor is coupled to said computer and said computer is configured to receive from said magnetic field sensor said measurements of said current passing through said outlet to said device.

5. The monitor device of claim 4, wherein said outlet comprises a plurality of sockets, and said computer is further configured to determine which of said plurality of sockets electrical current is flowing through to said device.

6. The monitor device of claim 2, wherein said magnetic field sensor is selected from a group consisting of:

compass;

magnetometer;

search coil;

flux-gate;

optically pumped;

nuclear precession;

superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID);

Hall-effect;

magnetoresistive;

magnetodiode;

magnetotransistor;

fiber optic; and

magnetooptic.

7. The monitor device of claim 1, wherein said transceiver is configured to transmit and receive via an encrypted protocol.

8. The monitor device of claim 1, wherein said transceiver is configured to transmit at a carrier frequency of between 850 MHz to 17.5 GHz, inclusive.

9. A network monitoring system comprising:

a first outlet having a plurality of terminal posts;

a first monitor device installed on said first outlet and comprising;

a faceplate having an outside surface and an opposing inside surface;

a computer attached to said inside surface;

an antenna attached to said inside surface;

a transceiver coupled to said antenna and operatively coupled to said computer and configured to transmit and receive via said antenna;

a plurality of electrically conductive protrusions attached to said inside surface, said plurality of electrically conductive protrusions sized and shaped, and positioned on said surface, to contact and draw power from said plurality terminal posts when said faceplate is installed thereon, said plurality of electrically conductive protrusions providing said drawn power to said computer and to said transceiver; and

a magnetic field sensor attached to said inside surface, said magnetic field sensor disposed on said inside surface at a location configured to detect and measure magnetic fields related to current passing through said outlet;

a central computer server in wireless communication with said first monitor device via said transceiver;

a second outlet having a plurality of terminal posts;

a second monitor device installed on said second outlet and comprising;

a faceplate having an outside surface and an opposing inside surface;

a computer attached to said inside surface;

an antenna attached to said inside surface;

a transceiver coupled to said antenna and operatively coupled to said computer and configured to transmit and receive via said antenna;

a plurality of electrically conductive protrusions attached to said inside surface, said plurality of electrically conductive protrusions sized and shaped, and positioned on said surface, to contact and draw power from said plurality of terminal posts of said second outlet when said faceplate is installed thereon, said plurality of electrically conductive protrusions providing said drawn power to said computer and to said wireless transceiver; and

a magnetic field sensor attached to said inside surface, said magnetic field sensor disposed on said inside surface at a location configured to detect and measure magnetic fields related to current passing through said outlet;

wherein said first monitor device computer is configured to transmit to said central computer server said measurements of said current passing through said first outlet received at said first monitor device from said magnetic field sensor;

wherein said second monitor device computer is configured to transmit to said central computer server said measurements of said current passing through said second outlet received at said second monitor device from said second monitor device magnetic field sensor;

wherein said first outlet and said second outlet are wired in parallel so that the power draw from said first outlet includes power draw from said second outlet; and

wherein said first monitor device computer can determine based on said power draw from said second outlet at said first outlet, that said first outlet and said second outlet are wired in parallel.